“Delay is the deadliest form of denial.”
So, said C. Northcote Parkinson a renowned 20th century British author who is the father of ‘Parkinson’s Law’ that espouses the notion that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.
Providing commentary on his experience in the British Civil Service and its expansion Northcote concluded such expansions causation was found by two factors namely, “An official wants to multiply subordinates, not rivals” and furthermore “Officials make work for each other.”
I have been recently considering with some angst and at times despair the malaise the Wallabies have found themselves in 2018. In an article I recently penned for The Roar stated ‘Were we not ensured that this year’s Wallabies were fitter, more skillful and prepared for the Irish and the Rugby Championship but yet again we in fan gold are left wondering, ‘What the bloody hell is going on’?’
Reflection has led me to consider ‘Parkinson’s Law’ and Rugby Australia and in particular the promised resurrection of the famed National Coaching Committee.
The initial committee was formed circa 1975 and driven by former Wallaby Dick Marks and few if any informed rugby people can doubt its influence and effectiveness.
Despite its unwarranted axing in 1996 the National Coaching Committee’s knowledge is woven into the fabric of the Golden era of Australia between 1998–2002 as each of those players and coaches alike during that period were nurtured by the committee’s work earlier in their careers.
Move forward to the 25th of May 2017 and Rugby Australia made arguably its finest decision in recent history by resurrecting the National Coaching Committee.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said, “We’re committed to setting up a national coaching panel”. On the timings of the establishment of such a panel Cheika said, “We have set some sort of time frames around establishment of the panel” and “I’ve been dying to say 100 days because that’s what every American president says,” and furthermore, “Whatever that time is, three and a bit months, we could actually have something set up.”
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika needs to avoid picking too many older players this year. (Photo by Jason O’Brien/Getty Images)
It’s now October 2018. There was no Australian rugby side in the Super Rugby Final coupled with a Wallabies loss to the Irish, no sign of the Bledisloe and a forgettable performance against the Pumas only compounded by a frustrating loss against the Springboks and still no National Coaching Panel.
Why has it taken over 12 months to address the issue of a National Coaching Panel after such early acknowledgement of its required re-implementation? Clearly issues have been manifesting in the Australian rugby game since the woeful 2016 season, yet it was only formally recognised in the 2017 season that such a panel was required yet by 2018 the panel has not been re-established.
Is this effective management of the issue?
I am reliably informed that earlier last month an interview with one prospective Committee member took place, but why such incremental progress – is it stonewalling or is there simply no will involved?
Will this panel be truly independent and allowed to illuminate some cold hard truths about the state of the game and how it is currently coached in Australia, or will it merely be an advisory to the current ‘brains trust’ at Rugby Australia whose advise can be suitably ignored if it’s too hard to swallow?
The problem about the current governance system is it is throwing up personnel in high decision-making roles that are literally learning on the job. Most experienced people coming from the grassroots would know of the contribution made by the coaching committee system but many of the directors of Rugby Australia don’t come from those sources.
For too long there was only one director on Rugby Australia that had had any community rugby administrative experience. That explains how the current question of why a non-in-house coaching panel would work could ever arise. As I am informed some directors don’t even know we had one, let alone that it was a vital part of our success. It’s not only denial that impedes us but often ignorance as well.
Rugby AU chief executive Raelene Caste. (AAP Image/Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs)
Bearing all this in mind, the failure to act swiftly to address an issue that is truly at the heart of why Australian rugby is on a losing trajectory both on the pitch and in the hearts and minds of the Australian sports consumer I again ask, ‘what the bloody hell is going on?’
What is going on at a time when Rugby Australia is understood to currently employ more staff now than any other time in its history? Has Rugby Australia set up the bureaucracy to ensure it gets the panel it wants not the panel it actually needs?
The challenge for Rugby Australia in its current model is to let go of its absolute power over how the how the game is currently coached.
As the famous French enlightenment writer Voltaire said, “Cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it.” Welcome the knowledge that a truly independent National Coaching Committee can bring success as it has before.
Seek not the reinforcement of current positions by making this proposed committee or panel subordinate to the current pathway’s development programs. It’s one thing to open and develop pathways, it’s another to teach those walking along them.
There simply can be no further delay. Good governance requires recognising opportunities and seizing the day (carpe diem). This is a no-brainer as it is proven in our history.
Buk
Guest
Apologies Sheek I often miss out the extra e, watched too many of the Shek movies with the kids
Buk
Guest
Yes rather sad to see Shek having been driven downhill with frustration. Frankly there are aspects of Nick's articles I find frustrating. I am not asking for all our problems to be solved at once, but I do find it rather telling when Nick makes comments like 'Most experienced people coming from the grassroots would know of the contribution made by the coaching committee system but many of the directors of Rugby Australia don’t come from those sources.' 'For too long there was only one director on Rugby Australia that had had any community rugby administrative experience. ' Those are rather shocking indictments of the system. And the question of 'a non-in-house coaching panel ... could ... (never) .... arise. As I am informed some directors don’t even know we had one ... ' Australia at past points in its history has led the way in terms of innovative thinking, that often made up for the lack of resources and league raids. Nick, your article is very even-handed, well-articulated (non-knee-jerk), and a well-reasoned response to issues facing Australian rugby; the sort of rugby intelligence that appears to be missing further up the chain. It is very frustrating to say the least, that that sort of voice seems to be missing at the top.
AndyS
Guest
Indeed, if I had a dollar for every plant I've pruned that then up and went and died...
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
What’s says it would rebuild if started again?
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
So his school spends more on cricket?
Armchair Sportsfan
Roar Rookie
Ahh...its the quarterly 'I am done' post from Sheek.....I've been growing used to these for the past 4-5 years or so....look forward to the xmas edition at year end..... PS: All in jest sheek, all in jest....I also hardly comment now, unlike those halycon days on the Roar circa 2008-2012 when my daytime productivity at work took a nosedive due to us solving the then ARU's problems ....but even now, you cant completely stay away....because you care.
sheek
Guest
Nick, Apologies for getting off-track a bit. I really have no time for the current rugby administration. Anywhere. Sometime ago I had coffee with an ex-Wallaby from the 60s & also a retired famous journalist (no guesses). Anyway, neither of them were impressed with Kafer's appointment. Sure, he's a good analytical commentator but that doesn't automatically mean he's a genius coaching co-ordinator. I'm less interested in the personalities & more interested in a sensible blueprint being designed, widely accepted & implemented. Whenever that might be. Dick Marks did an outstanding job when he was appointed national coaching director way back in 1974. It would be terrific if the type of success he implemented were to be replicated again.
ojp
Guest
I think you are spot on about the influence of the actual players on the kids Andy. My 9 year old goes to a public primary school; his teacher called up the Wildcats and asked about the possibily of a visit from someone in the organisation.... they sent out the Captain (Damian Martyn) and a promising youngster (Rhys Vague) a couple of weeks later; ran a clinic, handed out posters, took photos, signed everything in sight. The kids loved it. My boy (not quite 10 but already in size 16 clothes and chunky... like a tight forward!) liked basketball before, but I had tried to get him to come to Wildcats / Boomers games without success; now, we go to the Wildcats because he feels he 'knows these guys'. In related news, he starts under 12's basketball with one of the local clubs next week.
andrewM
Guest
I hadn't thought about the national coaching panel and Rod Kafer's appointment for some time. To be honest since the demise of the Force I considered it irrelevant to my Rugby World, but now that you mention it, I had thought that the RA foot dragging with World Series Rugby was political but now I see it for what it is - the RA is simply too inept.
sheek
Guest
And Nick, I would add since WR is apparently impotent to do anything to redress the financial imbalance between England & France on the one hand & the rest of the rugby world on the other, Australia might have no choice but to go its own way. Let all our leading players go. If the money in Europe is too good to knock back, let them go. Meanwhile, we should go back to basics & rebuild the game from the ground up. Australian football has shown that you don't need to have an international footprint to be successful in the domestic market, just an excellent structure (pathways) for the domestic market itself.
sheek
Guest
Nick, Historically, the portents are not encouraging. Back in 1907/08, when league broke away from union in Australia, the administration was woeful. It sometimes hasn't changed much in over 100 years, & I say this as respectfully as possible. The MRU (Sydney) back in 1908 did a smart thing, buying the Harold Park Raceway to turn into their own rugby owned ground. But the players simply saw it as a admin full of money, unwilling to share it. Sound familiar? They failed to articulate the benefits of owning their own ground, but in the light of a miserly attitude to medical insurance benefits & rep touring remuneration, only drove players all too willingly to league. Over in NZ, they were more proactive in stemming the threat of a professional league comp. Leading players were looked after in the form of ensuring jobs, or accommodation, or means of travel, or all three. And on the quiet, the NZRU made sure players who suffered long-term injury weren't left out of pocket being unable to work. The business community in NZ looked after their players, as they also did in South Africa. but not Australia. So historically, there's not much encouragement. Castle is a poor choice for CEO, getting the gig because she's female, she was probably cheap, & not too much alternate interest. Chairman De-Clyne has become the invisible man. Since culling the Force barely improved the other four provincial teams, or Australian rugby overall, he has no plan B, or plan C, or plan D to lift Australian rugby. Very depressing really.
Ian Brown
Roar Pro
Hi guys, Have written and read on this site for sometime and watched as we have reaped what we have sown. A few home truths. M/s Castle got the job due to no-one else wanting it. It is my understanding that she is applying for the CEO job at the GC Titans. The board is useless. The Wallabies are where they should be due to lack of depth in some spots, lack of skills and lack of ability. We play in a protected Super comp that rewards loosing. The NRC and State Comps are appalling when stacked up against NZ and SA comps. The U20's have been a rank failure for the last 7 years. The code has no money so even if we wanted to not matter what the results are we can't sack Chek and his staff. Kafer and Bryne should be coaching at U18 level as that's where skills should be honed as I would assume that by the time they are at Super or Wallaby level they have them but clearly not.
Nick Turnbull
Roar Guru
Hi Sheek, Yes the frustration is palpable. I have faith that solutions will be found as there is good will for the game but folks are tiring of false dawns and rhetoric. I have a young son who loves the games of rugby and cricket. The level of coaching he gets at rugby is Dad’s and a player from UQ also helps out. Things in our area through local efforts are not too bad. Conversely the coaching he gets at cricket through school is just better organised and in 4 weeks of preseason his game has improved notably. He didn’t want to watch the Wallabies last weekend but did want to watch the ladies T20 Cricket. As a rugby person I’d love him to stay with rugby but currently cricket is winning the day. Perhaps the level of coaching, perhaps the change of seasons. Who knows, but I’m encouraged when RA advised us back in 2017 Essentially they wanted junior coaches to feel part of the greater effort but to do so there needs to be a real, tangible and coherent presence from the ground up. I’m not sure we are there yet but I hope it’s not far off.
AndyS
Guest
I agree with the idea of putting more development officers in the field, but would add that far and away the best development officers the game has available are the players. Regardless of all the rest of it, I think easily the best part of Forrest's purported competition is obligating the players to participate in development activities. It is one of the main reasons I believe the NRC needs to be professionalised. Rather than trying to put additional full time DO's in each of the major areas, they should have 25-30 part timers hitting all the schools and clubs on their associated area/region.
sheek
Guest
Gidday Nick, If you're not already in a state of despair, it won't improve your humour to know that Parkinson's Law has invaded so many streams of Australian life, especially government & bureaucracy. The country is being rent ineffective, grounding to a halt by meddling, muddling, unelected, over-educated, under-intelligent apparatchiks everywhere. Why should rugby be so lucky? I've been a contributor to The Roar for 12 years now & we're still discussing an ineffective, underwhelming, often mediocre Wallabies outfit. Cut & paste, repeat, cut & paste, repeat. We've seen head coaches come & go, we've seen captains come & go, we've seen plenty of players come & go, but we continue to get the same mostly crap play. I for one am done. After 12 years of the same mind-numbing stuff, I need a break. In case anyone needs any help defining the problem, it's the structures mate, from the juniors up. The game is a mess. Has been since 2005 at least, although the rot probably set in before that, but just wasn't immediately obvious. Get rid of the top heavy RA admin & put more development officers in the field. They'll need the toughest of hides to try & coerce youth back to rugby, but they must try. Then fix schoolboy rugby at high school level, it requires a complete overhaul. If the private schools won't co-operate, then sideline them. It's about the national team, the Wallabies, it's not about the headmasters. i was thinking about this today. We're not going to get any help from WR, they are totally useless, just a bunch of gin swilling, caviar munching freeloaders. They won't put in protections to curtail the uneven financial power exercised by England & France. Okay, let our best players go to Europe. Let the Wallabies collapse except for the four yearly world cup. It's not unique, back in the 1920s the Wallabies didn't exist, only the Waratahs. Australian rugby has to rebuild the game from the ground up. The time for temporary quick fixes is ended. Time to build long-term, sustainable domestic structures.
Nick Turnbull
Roar Guru
Hi Cliff, Thanks for your reply. Mate I don’t know Rod Kafer, never met him, but at a guess he is 100% committed to his role, as is Raylene Castle. I’m sure in their minds they are doing what they think is right and there are some goods things happening in RA. I don’t think the roll out of the NCP is an example of this. I think the same of rugby scribes. They do ask hard questions but RA, Journalists, fans alike and of course me, we don’t know what we don’t know, so ask the questions. I’m a big believer in the NCP and want to know why the delay? I’m a big believer in the game and it’s people in this country and it hurts me deeply to see the current state the Wallabies are in. But there is a solution for each and every problem. Just don’t fear the process of finding them.
Cliff Bishkek
Roar Rookie
Hi Nick, an interesting point and well presented. I often wonder, but no longer do, as to why Rod Kafer is appointed to the position he now occupies. He was a failed Coach and all I see (well actually hear) is Kafer talk and talk but totally unable to walk the walk. But as Rugby Journalists go, why are these questions not being raised by the rugby scribes in Australia, continuously and directly to the RA Board, to Raylene Castle. It is a similar failure as to why Rugby Scribes are not asking Cheika the serious questions arising as we see from the fans and media on the Roar. I also offer, and not that they do contribute, but I do not see Brett McKay and Geoff Parkes or Nicholas Bishop asking the hard questions; the QLD vs NSW bias and totally divergent for the success of Rugby in Aus; the Cheika selections, and your question - where is the NCP; what is Kafer doing; what is Raylene Castle doing (apart from wanting to look like "Jack Sparrow); what is the support being delivered to Grassroots from RA and the State Administrations, and many others. And the other concerning feature - NZ and Ireland have delivered successful structures. Who is asking, if RA are studying these models and looking at positive changes in Aus? The fans cannot do it? But journalists can do it. The pressure is not applied. This is my take on the situation. No one is asking the hard questions or the serious questions.
Nick Turnbull
Roar Guru
Thanks Sinclair, I did read it and it’s a interesting point of view. I’m not in favour of sacking Cheika at this time but his loyalty to a few players and plans is eroding his credibility as coach. Like any great tactical leader he must display the ability to pivot into a new direction when required. He does not appear to able to accept this, I could be wrong but I’m not seeing it. I think David Nucifora and Joe Schmidt are a proven combination and would be high on RA’s list as potential replacements post RWC 19. The question is what do you do with Cheika, Larkham, Grey et al? RA needs to come up with a way of educating exiting coaches and placing them into other roles in the Australian game. We’re jettisoned too much talent in the past and left them out in the cold.
Nick Turnbull
Roar Guru
Good morning RB, Rugby Australia appointed Jim McKay to the Reds, not the NCP as the NCP does not actually exist in the format of its predecessor, The National Coaching Committee. That aside I think it a good appointment but there are more issues than just the appointment of coaches to address.
Sinclair Whitbourne
Roar Rookie
Good article Nick. Geoff Parkes would relate to you looking beyond the immediate playing group and at structures (or lack thereof). A Kiwi friend of mine commented yesterday that he wondered how much rugby background top administrators in Oz have. He also noted the deep antagonism between the provinces. It's a bit of an Augean stable. What did you think of Spiro's article yesterday?